Here At Dark Corners
by distinct complicity
Summary: In times like these, it's difficult to trust or to be trusted. Sirius learns a few things about trust and Tarea (OC) gets pulled into a world that she doesn't want anything to do with. Work in progress.
1. The Stalker

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling's books/characters, but my story. In addition, I have my own characters in this story.

Spoilers: 3rd book and beyond.

Rating: PG-13 for adult themes and language. Pairings: None so far (as of the first chapter). There will be later on, though what they'll be I'm not certain of yet. ;) Genre: Drama/Suspense

**A/N**: This story contains original characters in addition to familiar faces of the Harry Potter universe. I know that many people are opposed to the use of them, so I thought that I would give a fair warning. So, basically, what I'm trying to say is that if you don't like original characters in Harry Potter fanfics don't read this story. Or, if you choose to read it, don't be angry with me for it. I would like to think that I am using them in an original way. In no way do I mean for them to appear as "Mary Sues" or better than canon characters. In fact, as the story progresses, canon characters will become more of a focus than the original characters (but I won't be eliminating them completely). Besides, introducing other new characters is fun and it helps my story develop in a different way. (Hopefully, in a good way.) With that said, I give you the first chapter. **Please review so that I know if I'm taking a good or bad direction for this. **Mainly, I'm just going along randomly with this and not really taking this very seriously.

Also: I am still working on _Oh Dreaded Night!_ As of right now, another chapter is in the process of being written (in addition to this story) and will be added soon. I'm happy about the response I got from that. I'm just nervous about this because it is such a departure from my first story. But, we'll see where this goes, won't we? ;)

* * *

**_Here At Dark Corners_**  
(Introduction)

Chaldea promised her sister that she would be home for Christmas. This was said at a time when Tarea could still consider her sister close enough to let her in on everything that was going on in her life. Shortly after she made this promise, however, things started to change. Chaldea was no longer writing as often to Tarea as she once had. The letters that came by owl almost every week dwindled down to once every other week and then there came a time when Tarea would be lucky if she got one during the entire month. She asked her parents what was wrong with Chaldea, and the only way they could explain things to Tarea was that perhaps as her sister grew older her interests would separate from the family's… not entirely… but just enough so that Tarea would notice. Notice, she did. She sent an angry letter to her sister at school demanding to know why she didn't write and why she wasn't coming home for the holiday. (Without letting her parents know this, of course)

When Chaldea responded, she didn't even sound upset… in fact, she apologized that she couldn't come home, but a lot of students in her class decided to stay at Hogwarts during the vacation to catch up on their studies. _Studies my arse._ Tarea knew better than that. She knew her sister was smart and concerned for her studies, but never enough to spend Christmas time away from her family. Christmas was always their favourite time of the year. Something was wrong. The fact that Chaldea didn't even get angry at the vicious words that Tarea sent her was enough to give off signals that something was wrong. But no matter how much Tarea attempted to prove this to her mother and father she was shushed away. _Either my parents are idiots or they're just too liberal._ Either way, Tarea was upset with each and every one of her family members and threatened to stay locked up in her room for the entire Christmas vacation. No one even blinked at her threats.

Tarea knew her sister enough to know that there was something just not right. Chaldea might be a few years older than her, but she felt as if they were on the same level. It wasn't just some teenage crisis or whatever it was her parents called it, it was something different. Something strange. Didn't her parents read the Daily Prophet? There were things going on in the wizard world that were out of the ordinary. Tarea chose not to ignore the articles and essays being written about the dark phenomenon. She kept up on her news, after all, someone in the family had to. Tarea knew what her sister was up to. Her sister Chaldea had joined the dark forces of the wizard world. Unfortunate for her, when she told this to her parents they had to stifle a laugh. But she knew that it was true. There was no way that her sister would act this way otherwise. Not even if she was growing older. Her sister Chaldea could have a dozen boyfriends or school assignments on a list as long as five kilometers… she would not ignore Tarea as she did now. But Tarea could never be taken seriously. Not by anyone in her family. Not by anyone at all.

* * *

**Chapter One – The Stalker.**

_Tarea_

There was someone following her. That she was sure of. He… she was positive it was a he… had been following her for days. She would have been pleasantly surprised if it was someone following her because they admired her and was too shy to say hello. All right, she would have been creeped out just the same, but it would be a lot less worrying on her part. As of this moment, she did not know the reason behind her pursuer. All she knew was that everything she did to get him off of her trail failed. There would be this _presence._ It came known to Tarea when she arrived in London and hasn't left her since.

He only got closer. Were she to walk in circles around the city she would not tire him. He would only continue. It was as if he had some sort of tracking device, some type of Tarea-compass. She went about her business, though. The purchase of supplies for school was the only thing that kept her moving. It was the only thing keeping her sane. It was the only thing that was keeping her life _normal._

If her stalker wished to do something to her, she wished he would just come and do it already. No use in driving her crazy for days on end… or was that the plan? Whatever the plan was, she hoped the man would take some action soon. There was nothing she could do, after all. She considered for a moment telling the police about it, but decided against it. She took into mind that it might not be anything that Muggle police could do. She might contact the Ministry of Magic but it wasn't certain that this was magic-related and even if it were, why would someone like her know about it? They were likely to keep her and erase her memory afterwards. But, wouldn't that be a good thing, after all? No. She liked her mind the way it was, just fine.

She liked the way her life was going just fine, as well. Besides the fact that her sister was a known Death Eater and the fact that she (herself) had chosen to turn down an education at Hogwarts (School of Wizardry) after she received the acceptance letter, therefore out casting herself from the society she had grown into. Oh, had her parents thrown a fit! But that was not up for thought right now. It was getting rid of this stalker of hers. She just wanted to turn in for the day and go to bed, resting knowing that there wasn't any person out there to harm her. But all of that seemed far away. She knew if she went home now there would only be danger to her. Maybe she was only prolonging her suffering, but she just had to go through the motions of her life had there not been magic involved.

Tarea had not seen her sister Chaldea for two years, now. She didn't bother coming back home after completing her last term at Hogwarts. This ultimately broke the family apart. Their parents stopped talking to each other, once the believers that Chaldea was the perfect child, now blaming one another for the disappearance of their daughter. They never used the phrase "Death Eater" but knew that was what their eldest daughter was now. It had gone against everything that they stood for. All the values they tried to teach their daughters… all went down the drain. After all, one decided not to use magicks and the other one preferred the Darkest Arts. In their eyes, they were failures. They found reason to blame each other though; creating a miserable household that was no longer for anyone else but the two to reside in. Tarea stepped up and announced she would go away to school, but not to Hogwarts as she was supposed to, but to London where she would pursue her interests in art. Her family never actually said the word "disown" but it was implied. For a split second, Tarea did not blame her older sister for leaving, no matter what reason.

It would be easier if she weren't so alone. Being alone in school was something that she was accustomed to, because there, ultimately, she wasn't always alone. It was the breaks in between terms that were the most lonesome and at this moment, when she could use some one the most (even if it was for company or to keep her sane or _something_), there was no one at all. No one at all to calm her confusion or frustrations over this _thing_. No one to say, "Tarea, you're not crazy, indeed someone is following you..." Some one just needed to say those words to her. She would feel so much better, even if they couldn't do anything about that phantom.

She would have to give up eventually, and go home. Tiring them didn't seem to be working, as she initially knew. They knew where she lived, they had to... how else would they have tracked her all day? They couldn't have been waiting at random points in the city for her. They couldn't have known where she was going from point to point, because she wasn't exactly on her daily routine unless of course they were tracking her magically. It was times like these (had there ever been a similar time?) that she wished she had indeed trained at Hogwarts. Surely she would be able to cloak her identity from one of these tracking spells, but she had no way of even beginning to understand what this involved. Things like this could take years and years of training. She had had none.

It came to the point that maybe she should talk to her parents, or go back to their house for some sort of protection. They might know how to handle this. But the thought of leading them back to her parent's house seemed like the wrong way to go about things if she wanted to keep them safe. Isolate herself, instead. That might be better. No use in her entire family being harmed because of _her_ what ever it was that she might have done. She had been tracing her steps back over the past couple of days, thinking about who she might have crossed, but no such examples existed. She kept to herself. She had very little friends and even less enemies (if she could even call them friends or enemies, the words seemed a little strong). Or perhaps it wasn't directly related to her, but maybe to her parents. They had no high place in the wizard world, but they were well respected, nonetheless. Or perhaps it was because of her sister.

Chaldea, Chaldea. She had not the words. This could be ugly Death Eater business and her sister had dragged them all in. That's what it could be. There was no telling what these Wizards were capable of. It was that kind of doubt and fear that left her to decide to stay away from the wizard world. There had been so many people affected by that _man_, that man who was running this group. That man who had been doing things to Wizards and Muggles alike. That man they called Voldemort. That man whose name people could never speak, lest they should call upon him and call upon their deaths. Tarea, although young, knew the impact he was having. She heard her parents say that there was no one to trust any more. They didn't seem to even trust _each other_. Any one could be affected, even those who did not follow him... they were the worst off, even. He could control your actions against your own heart. He could make doing something evil feel _pleasant_ to you. The thought of it made young Tarea shiver. She vowed never to practice magic. _Never to go near that place Hogwarts_. It was there that Chaldea had turned her life for the worse. Tarea wondered if she would be as susceptible. She wouldn't even give it a chance to.

Tarea sighed. The bags that she carried were heavy. She no longer wanted to be surrounded by so many people; she wanted to go back to her flat. She wanted to lie down in bed, close her eyes, and let what ever was going to come, come. Luckily she wouldn't have to walk far to get home (as taking the Underground seemed to depressing right now). Also, she was going to work her stalker for every last bit of energy he had. After all, she had been drained of most of hers.

Luckily, today was the sky was clear of clouds and of rain. She picked today to go for her supplies, although it was a bit early, because of the weather. She preferred to stay above ground for most of her travels. She did not mind the walk; in fact she would be enjoying this much more if not for her follower. She laughed, although nervously, at the thought of perhaps giving this person a nickname, but right now she didn't know enough or couldn't think clear enough to give him one. That was the only time she smiled today (if slightly), although now that she thought about it, she did smile at the clerk in the bookshop to be friendly... but that was about it. He responded by saying, "You should smile more often." That had been the first time he had actually addressed her in a way other than "Hello" or "Find everything you were looking for today?" She thought he was quite handsome, if in a bookish sort of way. Following that thought she blushed. It was nice to have something to think about other than her stalker; even if it was temporarily.

Halfway through her walk home she had wished she had taken a train. Her bags were too heavy to carry that long of a distance alone. She kept walking, though. When she got home she would just throw this all to the floor and collapse on her bed. Whoever this stalker was could just come take her for all she cared, as long as she had a minute to lie down on her bed and close her eyes. No, scratch that, perhaps after she had a cup of tea as well. That would provide her with a few extra minutes at least.

Once she arrived, she did just that. Her books and other supplies were released from her grip by the door. She locked her door behind her, as always, but this time perhaps with extra care (she looked down the hall, left to right, to make sure there was no one there). She immediately turned the water on for tea and collapsed on her bed until she heard the kettle whistle. It felt so good to be home. So good in fact, she didn't bother with taking off her shoes before she jumped onto her bed. She left them on almost as if she was expecting to be leaving her flat again soon.

She closed her eyes and faded, only to be wakened by the kettle whistling. She bounced off the bed and hurried to the kettle, not wanting to hear the high piercing sound any longer. As she was pouring water into her pot, she heard a loud "POP!" come from behind her. Thinking something may have dropped or come through the window by her bed, (or even a mystery balloon) she turned around and saw Chaldea sitting at her bed.

"Afternoon, sis."

Tarea dropped the kettle at her feet.

* * *

**_Benjamin_**

_****_

****

Stalking that Tarea girl was rather boring, but someone had to do the dirt work. He had to prove himself able to perform even the most tedious task. It was all out of loyalty, Lucius (his direct superior) had suggested, all out of loyalty to Voldemort. (Who had yet to speak to). He had been on other similar missions, but none so dreary as this. He wished that he could be more on the front lines where all the exciting things like torture or killings went on. But, he was not ready for that yet. Or, so they said. He was getting rather impatient though, and this did not help in living out this task day to day.

The girl never _did _anything. Well, she would leave her flat daily, but she didn't go to work (at least these past three days she hasn't) and she never went anywhere more exciting than a bookshop or the library. She was supposed to be seventeen years old, but she looked younger than that. She wasn't as attractive as her sister, Chaldea, he knew that much. But, they looked very much alike and if one didn't know them that well, they might even be mistaken for each other. Perhaps she would grow more attractive in time. Seventeen could be an awkward age for most girls. Chaldea had to be twenty years old. Maybe twenty-one, he didn't ask. Benjamin had never asked a woman's age, or anyone else's for that matter as he was taught that that was bad manners. Yes, he had wonderful manners up until this point. In fact, this thing... this stalking thing... could be attributed to the only _impolite_ thing he's done in his entire life. He thought that it might be more exciting, doing something that was different, but right now, he felt bored. Not only did he feel bored, he felt lonely.

It would only be a little while longer before he could tell Chaldea that it was safe to see her sister. She had been planning this for quite some time, but with all that was going on in the wizard world, she had to take precautions. There was that little problem with her sister, that she was a witch, but a non-practicing one. The ministry kept their eyes on such people, as it was most peculiar that one would _choose_ not to practice magic especially with the potential. Seeing that Chaldea was on a list of wizards wanted by the Ministry of Magic herself, she couldn't just appear on her family's doorstep without knowing the coast was clear, so to speak.

They had found that Tarea was no living with her family, after all. She had a flat in London, where she was attending school; magic-free. (Benjamin still could not get over that fact) All they needed to do was make sure she was in contact with no one from the Ministry or from the Order opposing them and they were good to go.

Ben did not know the reason behind Chaldea wanting to visit her sister. He knew that it had been a while since they've seen each other. (Chaldea has been with the Dark Lord for a few years, now) Members of this order were still allowed to keep contact with their families, but for some reason, Chaldea gave up those privileges willingly and kept a life away from her family. Perhaps she missed them. It wouldn't be surprising if she did. She seemed like a caring person, as it were.

He stayed with his own family. He was still at home, in fact, but he was at his last year at Hogwarts. His term would be starting in a few weeks, but this summer he had given up his free time to serve the Dark Lord. He had pledged his allegiance, but he still had to prove it. He had yet to receive his dark mark. He was dispensable, as far as he was concerned, even more so to the others. But because of being unbranded as a follower, he was also capable of being a great spy. He hoped to do spying. He hoped to be doing something other than this. He'd rather be in History of Magic class listening to Professor Binns drone on all day... and that was saying a lot.

Instead, he was stuck here with Tarea. He didn't like her name much, either. There was nothing to it. Chaldea was much nicer sounding. He'd rather be looking at Chaldea as well. At least she was _animate_. At least she spoke from time to time. If you didn't follow Tarea around as he did, you might think the girl was a mute with all the non-talking she did. It was rather peculiar. He didn't like this quiet, he didn't like it at all. If it wasn't for the noise of the city, he thought he might go mad from all the quiet.

He could speak to her, although he was told not to. Perhaps passing her on the train to find a seat, he could bump into her. Say "hello" or "excuse me". Perhaps she would return with a greeting or a pardon of her own. The girl did not take the Underground, however, and made him walk all around the city. She liked to walk, from what he could see. She walked long distances to his dismay. He kept up with her, though. He was not unfit. He would walk far behind her. Sometimes so far that she wouldn't be able to see him. Sometimes he felt that he was being obvious in following her, but she did not notice. He wondered if she knew about him at all. She was a witch, after all, training or not, witches sensed things. But, if she lived life for the most part as a Muggle, she may have learned to block these feelings already.

He wanted to connect to her. He wanted to make this stalking thing interesting for himself. Perhaps by scaring her it would make things a bit more interesting for her as well. She seemed to be extremely bored. But perhaps he was just imposing his own feelings onto her. This life could be perfectly fine for her. Maybe that's why she chose this over one as a witch. Maybe she was just _boring_. But he wouldn't. She did have a nervous look on her face at one point, though. Perhaps he did get through to her. She looked over her shoulder quite a few times going in and out of shops, walking home. She spoke to no one other than the clerk at the bookstore. He was obviously flirting with her and she seemed clueless. She looked around at the counter when she was leaving. _She didn't notice me though. I was standing at the shop window and she didn't notice me. _He would do as he was told, and nothing more. He would clear the way for Chaldea.

He was smitten with Chaldea. Seeing and following this girl, this sister of hers (who reminded him often of her) only made him like Chaldea even more. She had yet to make her feelings known to him, but he liked to think that they were mutual. But it was hard to tell with Chaldea, though. She wasn't one to give her feelings out freely, especially when it came to romantic feelings. In fact, he never heard her speak on romance at all and wondered if she actually entertained the thought. (With him, most of all) But he wasn't here with Chaldea. He had _her_ to deal with: the girl who only stopped for books. No, she had gone to a record shop yesterday, hadn't she? She hadn't purchased anything, though. If she did, he might have been mildly interested in what she had. He could have gone in the shop himself and she might not have noticed him. Muggle music interested him, quite a bit. At least it could have killed some time. But no, he was to remain unseen. He was to remain "in the shadows". How utterly dull. But he was willing to do this work. He was willing to do anything; anything for his leader, anything for Chaldea. What ever was fit for them was fit for him. At this point, it was all over, though. No more following that dull girl. He had nothing left to do now that it was over. He could wait for his next assignment. He could wait to see Chaldea again (he had the chance to speak to her before she left to see Tarea). Until then, what would he do with his time in London?

* * *

**_  
Sirius_**

In his canine form, it was much easier to tolerate long distance by foot. He praised himself for thinking up the idea of changing in the first place. Not only did it give him an extra cover, it helped his human legs and feet from becoming sore. He would be doing a lot of walking, otherwise. The wizard he was keeping an eye on, the future Death Eater, was on the trail of a young lady who happened to think that walking was the most suitable form of transportation. The Death Eater was probably cursing his place in the order, by now, wishing that he could be doing something a little more interesting like torturing or killing someone… whatever it was that Death Eaters do. He didn't know a lot about the steps to initiation for this group, but he imagined that boring work like this was one step closer. Or, that's what they were led to believe by Voldemort or other senior members.

He couldn't figure out what the interest in the girl was. When he finally got a closer look at her he hadn't noticed anything extraordinary. She did bare resemblance to someone in the same year as him in school, though. Could be her sister. There could be a possibility that it wasn't. The girl didn't give away anything that might have made Sirius believe that she was a witch. And this girl he knew, came from a pureblood wizard family. He remembered, vaguely, that it was rumoured that Chaldea's sister was a little odd. The discussion never went further than that, though. Chaldea made sure not to mention her "weird" sister ever again and it was, for the most part, forgotten about. But there wasn't anything weird about this girl. She was a young girl, walking around London as if she didn't have another care in the world. She stopped into Muggle book and record stores. She was dressed as any other Muggle her age would; not like a wizard trying to imitate a Muggle. (That he left up to Benjamin.) And she walked long distances when she could have very well flooed or apparrated anywhere she chose. He almost wanted to tell Benjamin that he was following the wrong person. From what Sirius could see, he was, unless, of course, Benjamin was stalking her for personal reasons. He didn't put it past the man… but the possibility of Ben taking romantic interest in a Muggle was slim to none.

Once the girl entered a building that looked to be her residence, Benjamin disappeared. He most likely reappeared to a group of Death Eaters, if not Voldemort himself, to report his findings. Sirius thought that he might report back to the Order, but it was too soon. Somewhere inside that building was that girl and perhaps she would reemerge soon. He considered going into the building, but he wasn't sure if this was her residency. Even if it was, what was he supposed to do? Try to find her apartment? Well, that wasn't bad for starters…

He found an alleyway nearby and once again became his human self through the transformation that he seemed to be getting better at. He walked back to the building he saw her go into and entered without any problem. _So much for security_, he thought. Just inside the lobby he found mailboxes. He skimmed through them quickly and came upon a familiar name --- Hanepher. T S Hanepher. That was Chaldea's last name as he remembered it. It wasn't her first initial, though. But he didn't know any of her family's first names to be able to match it. It seemed more than a coincidence that he should think about Chaldea before and now see her last name written in neat script and taped above a mailbox. T S Hanepher, 4E. Whoever was in that apartment, if they were related to Chaldea, could be involved with Voldemort as well. Going up to this fourth floor flat could be dangerous, but curiosity was definitely taking over. The way that Benjamin handled this all made it seem as if he had been stalking the girl for days. That reason alone was enough to treat this as a special case.

Without further consultation Sirius Black found the staircase that would lead him to the fourth floor. He walked up the stairs quickly, but quietly, often looking above him to make aware anyone he might be running into. The staircase area was quiet as was the rest of the building. He was anxious to see what he could find out about this place, though. He was anxious to see what he could find out about this girl, especially. He didn't put much thought into what he'd do if he bumped into the girl or another Death Eater – he would know what to do when and if the time came that he did have a confrontation. Until then, he thought it very unlikely that he would have one. Of course, this could all be a trap that Sirius was walking into but Sirius found it (again) very unlikely. It was Benjamin that was in question here and Sirius couldn't take the bloke too seriously… even if he belonged to the future Death Eaters club.

When he reached the fourth floor, he immediately looked for an "E" on the door and found one towards the end of a short hallway. From the outside, the flats on this floor did not appear to be very large. The hallway he was standing in wasn't very clean and it seemed that the carpet had seen better days and lighter traffic. The lamp above him gave off a very dim light, as if one of the light bulbs had blown or gone missing. The paint on the doors had long since seen a fresh coat. All in all it was better than some other places he had seen in London. He could even call it a bit cozy and homey in comparison to some of the shit holes he's seen in his time. Even including his own. He knew how difficult it was to find a decent flat in London with very little money. But, this place had things going for it. It didn't smell like a blend of cabbages and beef stew. It was in a fairly decent neighborhood, as well. A girl might be safe here on her own… but what was that young girl doing on her own if this was indeed her apartment? Didn't she have a family? Didn't she have friends?

He shook his head and leaned in towards the wall that might make up 4E. He pressed his ear against the wall and tapped his wand lightly against the wall and began to listen to a conversation between two girls that was already in progress.


	2. Fores Protectus

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling's books/characters, but my story. In addition, I have my own characters in this story. Other disclaimers and author notes on first page (first chapter) of this story.

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**Chapter Two - Fores Protectus.****_  
_**

**_Chaldea_**

_****_

"There are no signs that she is in contact with any other wizards besides your family. When she arrived in London she went about with what looked to be her normal routine."

"What is a pseudo-Muggle's routine?" Chaldea asked, laughing. She didn't find it strange that her sister had chosen this lifestyle, but rather, she found it amusing. Leave it up to the both of them to decide to choose different paths from their parents. Chaldea didn't want Tarea to end up like those boring old wizards just as much as she didn't want _herself_ to. If it meant that Tarea had to pretend to be a boring Muggle, then so be it. She also had a feeling that it wouldn't be long before Tarea would come back to the world that she was familiar with. Chaldea knew that there was more to life as a wizard; especially when one had control of their powers and was able to put them to use to serve a greater purpose.

"Well," Benjamin sighed, "She led me around her neighborhood and just beyond to do some book shopping… and then some more book shopping… and then some more." He exaggerated with hand movements as he spoke. "Er, you get the picture."

"Poor Benji!" Chaldea ruffled her friend's hair. "I'm sorry you were made to do this. I'm sure there would have been someone else to volunteer, but it looks like they had their hands full already."

"Benji" frowned. "I do what I must, if it means serving the Dark Lord in some way. However _minute_ it might seem." He looked as if he was about to roll his eyes, but he did not go as far as doing that.

Chaldea smiled. "You will go far with that attitude, Benjamin. I will make sure that the Dark Lord knows of your loyalty."

"When will it be, that he recognizes me?"

"Soon, Benjamin, soon. You know that he has great plans that he must work through. You know that he does things only when he is ready. You must be patient. You will not be disappointed if you are." She smiled. What she said was true. The boy has been showing promise the entire time he has shown interest in following Voldemort. He was also very helpful to _her._ It was not exactly Voldemort's plan to have Benjamin follow her sister around for the past three days, but the Dark Lord did approve Chaldea's wishes. After all, Chaldea had been an invaluable member and devoted follower for these few years. In his own way, Voldemort had told Chaldea this. He considered her humble advice from time to time, and for that she was grateful. So grateful.

"Will you be going to see Tarea now?"

"Yes. I must go while she is home. I don't know how she will react to seeing me."

"Good point. A witch who does not know how to control her own powers is very dangerous." Benjamin pointed out.

"I know. Better if she does something in her own flat than out in public in front of dozens of Muggles."

"Why are you going to see her, anyway? Doesn't she want to be left alone? You know, she barely even speaks to Muggles. I suppose she would like to live her life in complete isolation."

Chaldea laughed. "Family business. Nothing more. Better to get it settled now before I won't be able to make time to see her at all."

"The Dark Lord has plans, then?" Benjamin asked, anxiously.

"He always does. I might ask you to do the same. Settle any unfinished business. It's best not to have anything in the way of you performing your duties."

"I have none. I am square. Well, school does begin, soon."

"No need to worry about school. No need to worry at all. You're in your last year, aren't you?" She laughed. "I came to the Dark Lord even before my last year. Quite a few of us did at that time." She paused for a moment, remembering the first time she bowed before her Master. "I have no time to reminisce, though. I must speak to my sister. Will you stay here for when I come back? We can speak later."

"Oh yes, of course. For as long as it takes, Chaldea. I am here for you and for our Lord."

"Very well. I do not mean to make this visit very long. If for some reason I am not back by nightfall you must return to Tarea's flat. If I am not able to return, if you do not find me there, Lucius needs to be warned. He will know how to proceed from there. Can I count on you?"

Benjamin came closer to Chaldea and took her two hands in his. He looked into her eyes and swore, "You can count on me as you can count on no other." Chaldea was not sure why he went to this length to show her that she could count on him, but she took his romantic reply as a very positive yes.

"I'm off, then. Be well." He let go of her hands and two seconds later she was gone.

When she was grounded once more, she was standing in her sister's flat. She steadied herself as she tried to keep an eye on Tarea. She decided to sit down on the bed in fear that she might fall from her dizziness. The girl had her back to her, but as soon as the loud _POP!_ the apparating sounded, Tarea had turned around. The look of surprise on her sister's face was priceless. She knew that she would surprise her sister, but not by this much. So amusing. She smiled, "'Afternoon sis."

Clumsy Tarea dropped her pot of boiling water. The water splashed at her feet, and Tarea jumped to the side. Once the pot settled and the boiling water had stopped pouring out, Tarea shuffled over to it, but before she could get her hands on it, Chaldea reacted. "_Wingardium Leviosa!_" The pot floated, mid-air. Tarea studied the levitating pot and then her sister. Chaldea stood up and began to walk over to the pot, but Tarea grabbed the pot instead. She steadied it down on the stovetop, as if it would pop up once more.

"You should be more careful." Chaldea reached her sister and put her arms out for an embrace. Tarea hesitated at first, but gave in, and gave her sister a long awaited embrace. "It's so good to see you, Tarea."

Tarea was the first to pull away. "It's… been a very long time, Chaldea."

"I know it has. That's why I wanted to see you."

Tarea walked over to the small table that took up most of the kitchen area of the small room and sat down. "Why don't you have a seat? You must be a little disoriented from your trip."

"You never skip a beat, Tarea. I know you are clever despite your choice of lifestyle."

"I like to think I am more clever for choosing this lifestyle in the first place."

Chaldea looked around the room. What sort of lifestyle was this? Living in a one room flat? Dedicating ones life to book and hermitage? She wanted to ask her sister this but she did not want to argue with her. She had other things to discuss. "That's your choice."

"And what of your choice? Certainly our parents didn't raise us to be Death Eaters."

Chaldea responded quickly, "Well, surely they didn't raise us to be Muggles, either."

"I am satisfied with my choice of lifestyle."

"As I am with mine. Then who are we to complain?" Chaldea tried to smile for her sister, but Tarea was not accepting it.

"I would like to do a lot of complaining, actually! You left the family to become a murderer! And don't tell me that's not what you do, because I know what Death Eaters do."

"From where, the Daily Prophet?"

"Among other places, yes." Tarea admitted.

"It's not your business what I do."

"But isn't it? You're my sister."

"And you are mine! If you are able to judge my lifestyle, then I will judge yours. I think it's despicable that you would choose to live life as a Muggle with no respect for your roots in magic. You are a disgrace to wizard-kind." Of course she was lying. She did not think her sister a disgrace. She almost envied her in a way for choosing to live a simple life, but she wanted to show Tarea that if she was going to judge her life, she would judge hers in turn.

"I am no disgrace. I may be an outcast, but I am no disgrace."

"It's your own fault, then. You're just as miserable as a Muggle as you were a potential witch."

"So, what comes out of me becoming a witch? To turn to a life such as yours? Do destroy all that don't fit into a certain mold? We were lucky to be born into a pureblood family… it was just luck alone. There was no other force stopping us from being born to a Muggle or a half blood, just like there is no other force stopping anyone else born into the wizarding world. Surely you can't destroy someone because of their _luck of placement._"

"I don't wish to argue politics or philosophy with you, sis. I didn't come here for that. I just want you to reconsider your choice of lifestyle. I want to warn you of things to come."

Tarea's expression darkened even more. "What… things?"

"Wizards bringing death to Muggles and the impure."

"That has already been happening."

"I know it has, but not on such a scale as it has been. There are larger things in store. I don't know who or where it is going to strike, but it is going to be happening soon and I want you to be prepared. You are not prepared to protect yourself if something should happen. You need to reconsider your lifestyle. I suggest that you go back home and that you have Mum and Dad train you on at least the simplest skills. You will have time after that to be tutored in the more complex spells, but you need some basis…"

"I don't want this. Chaldea, I don't want this. I know you don't want this, either. I don't know what made you follow this fool in the first place, but…"

"The Dark Lord is no fool, Tarea." Chaldea stated quite seriously.

"The Dark Lord, is it?" Tarea asked, jokingly.

"HE is not fool. He will touch the lives of all wizarding families. You will not be excluded from this. The very fact that you are related to me puts you at risk. Not from my side, I would never hurt you… but there are others. There are others who will stop at no end to see Voldemort and his followers defeated. They are called the Order…"

"And you come here, knowing this? If I wasn't in danger I am now!"

"You are not. There are no Order members around."

"Then who has been following me for the past three days?"

"Oh. You knew about that?" Chaldea may have blushed. "How did you? You didn't even see him…"

"So it was a him! I had a feeling. I didn't _see_ anyone. But when someone has been following me for three days, it's hard to escape _their_ eyes on _me_. I might not know how to use my powers, but that doesn't mean they don't know how to use themselves."

"I know that! I just… I just wanted to make sure that you were as isolated from the wizarding world as you were mentioned to be. And you are. I made sure of that."

"By having someone follow me around? Way to go about it!" Tarea crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well, what else was I going to do? Call you on the telephone and ask you if you've talked to any wizards lately?"

"I don't even have a telephone!" Tarea squeaked.

"Exactly!"

"I was just at Mum and Dad's why couldn't you reach me there?"

"I _just_ missed you."

"Well… well… I don't even know what to say, Chaldea. I don't."

"Say nothing. Just… consider what I've said. I don't mean to upset you, or interrupt your life like this, but you're my sister and I want to be sure that nothing will happen to you. Especially when I can't be around to protect you all the time."

"I'm not asking for your protection."

"I know. But you might need some form… I didn't want my visit to be this way. I didn't want to make you upset."

"I know. You have mentioned that already."

"Well, forgive me for wanting to protect my own sister!" Chaldea, in turn, crossed her arms.

"I'm not… I'm not upset at you wanting to protect me. It's… very caring. I would appreciate it even more if you actually came around more to see me or see Mum and Dad. This is just coming out of nowhere. It's all very strange. Besides, living in Muggle society is protection enough for me." Tarea unfolded her tense arms.

"In the future, it won't be. Will you at least allow me to put Wards up on your flat? So that no one might enter it without alarm?"

"Do I have a choice in the matter?"

"Not really."

"Go ahead, then." She sighed.

* * *

_**Sirius**_****

_"I want to warn you of things to come."_

_"What… things?"_

Before the other girl had the chance to answer, he was already asking himself, _What things?_ He leaned closer to the wall, hoping that a neighbour might not come and distract him from listening. He knew this wouldn't look good to anyone else. But he needed to listen to this conversation. It was no longer between two sisters reuniting --- it was something completely different. He never suspected that the conversation would turn this way. From where it was heading, he thought it might go into more about the girls' every day lives or perhaps their family. There was a tone to both of their voices, though; a tone that worried him.

Obviously, one girl was a Death Eater and the other was not. The Death Eater came off as surprisingly caring for her sister, but then, a Death Eater could still remain loyal to his or her family. It wasn't their families that they were set to destroy, after all, their families were the purest of purebloods. Her sister, although not practicing, was pureblooded (if these were indeed the Hanephers)… so why wouldn't she want to protect her?

_"Wizards bringing death to Muggles and the impure."_

He wanted to leave; to tell the others right away about his findings, but not until the conversation between the sisters was over. He couldn't afford to miss any information that they might have. Although he had the feeling that the Death Eater would go no further with the information she was giving out, he had to remain where he was.

The word _death_ lingered in his mind. No matter how much death he came across in his short time in the Order, he could never get used to it. With these words that this young girl uttered, it seemed that it was inevitable that he would be witness to more and more of it. Her words were enough for him to think about getting back to Dumbledore or to the Ministry to send Aurors over to take care of her, but he would not move. He would hear of her plans. He would hear of any more clues that she might be able to give. All of his work for today would not go to waste.

_"By having someone follow me around? Way to go about it!"_

He chuckled, even though it wasn't particularly funny. It had turned into a conversation that two sisters might have, though. It sounded familiar to a conversation that he and his brother Regulus had shared once, when Sirius had expressed for the first time his distaste for all that Voldemort stood for. He recalled saying something along the same lines as the other non-Death Eater girl that they couldn't judge someone solely on their family because what family a person ended up in was up to luck and nothing more. Regulus had it in him to tell Sirius exactly how he felt, and held nothing back as this other sister did… but then, the brothers had the entire winter evening to argue back and forth. Sirius then regretted his choice to spend the Christmas holiday at home. He knew that he couldn't agree with one word that his brother or his parents spoke. He should be used to it by now, but it angered him just the same thinking about it as it had when he was there in the middle of the heated argument. Thank the stars that he no longer lived at 12 Grimmauld Place. _Enough of that…I've wasted enough time fussing over them. _

This conversation was much more important right now to him, anyway. The fact that it had similarity to any he might have had was not the issue. In fact, there were probably families and friends having similar conversations at this very moment. Wizards were always arguing over which side was the right side and which was the wrong. Death Eaters were probably in similar situations with their families, making sure that they were safe from whatever harms the future might hold.

_"Will you at least allow me to put Wards up on your flat? So that no one might enter it without alarm?"_

And so it goes, he was not able to stay as long as he would like. He sprinted down the hall and then down the stairs wondering who he should tell his discoveries about first, Remus (who was most likely at home recuperating from the night before last) or Dumbledore and the Order (who would be able to do more than just listen to Sirius go on about their former schoolmate). He decided on Dumbledore, although it was not his first choice, it was the better choice. He shouldn't disturb Remus about these things, anyway. He had enough to worry about without hearing about all the death and destruction that Voldemort had in store for the near future. He paused for a moment at the bottom of the stairs, just before the main entrance, and wondered if he should wait to see if more Death Eaters came. It could be a meeting place that they did not yet know about. But it was very unlikely that they would bring a non-Death Eater to such a place.

Unless of course, they were recruiting. They were _always_ recruiting.

* * *

**_Tarea_**

"I'm just going to make sure that no one is outside your door before I do this. They might be knocked off their feet." Chaldea stood, pausing for a moment before she headed over to the door, as if waiting for Tarea's permission.

"Don't worry, there won't be anyone outside my door. As you can see this isn't the ideal place to host guests."

"Well," Chaldea opened the door and looked around. "No nosy neighbours, anyway." She shut the door after she felt satisfied that no one was around. She took a good look at the door, studying it for a moment in a strange way. She held her hand out to Tarea, who was at a close but safe distance. "You should step back a few paces."

Tarea stepped back what she thought was a sufficient amount of paces and waited to see her sister perform this spell. She watched Chaldea as she took out her wand and pointed it at the middle of the door. "_Fores protectus!"_ She outlined the perimeter of the door with her wand. After she was through and after a moment's pause, Chaldea turned to her sister and announced, "No one will be able to enter this flat without permission."

"Should we test it?" Tarea asked, suspiciously.

"If you don't think my magic is good enough…" She complained, but all she got back from Tarea was a blank stare. "Very well, I will leave, closing the door behind me. I may be able to open the door, but I will not be able to enter. Let me demonstrate." She did as she said she would, and upon trying to cross the threshold, she was not able to move any further. She jumped at the doorway, only to slam into the invisible shield. She rubbed her arm as if this shield bruised her in some way.

Tarea moved to the door. "Hmmm… I think I like this very much. You won't be able to enter again, will you? I don't see _why _I should let you back in." A smile crossed her face.

"Very funny. You don't have to let me back in, but at least step out here so that I can say a proper goodbye to my own sister."

Hesitating for a moment, just to frustrate her sister, Tarea waved and said, "Come back inside." Chaldea crossed with no problem whatsoever.

"See, works like a charm. Er, no pun intended."

Her sister laughed. "Yeah, sure Chaldea."

"In any case, I wanted to know if I might check on you from time to time when things are… well, when things are not so overwhelming."

"I would really like that."

"Would you? So there are no…"

"Well, you know where I stand on your beliefs, but you are my sister. There is some good in you still."

"Some good in me, still?" Both sisters laughed.

"You know what I mean."

"I think I do."

* * *

**_Benjamin_**

****

He couldn't sit still while she was gone. Walking the streets of London didn't appeal to him, either, as a way to pass the time, as he had been out most of the day doing just that. He was tired of walking, but although he finally had a moment to rest his legs, he could not. He decided instead to tidy up the room that he had rented. He had not been back here in three days. Dishes from that day were still placed on the counter next to the sink. Although he was hungry, he dare not touch the stale biscuits that Chaldea brought over for him just a few days before. He suspected that the rats had already nibbled at it, if not took half pieces away with them. A trail of crumbs to the floor reinforced this thought. He took the plate off the counter and dumped its contents into the trash before wiping the plate clean with a cloth. The water barely ran out of the plumbing. That's what he got for renting from _Muggles_. But he needed to keep a low profile while in London, and this type of place was perfect for that.

He changed out of his Muggle clothes and back into his robes. He tossed the clothes beside his unmade bed. Yet another thing he could do to pass the time, make his bed… but once he was standing next to it he couldn't help but think it looked very comfortable and inviting.

"_Bed_…" he said aloud to no one in particular. A nap would not do any harm while he waited. In fact, it could only make the time that he had to wait go by even faster. So, he lay down, sinking into the pillow and barely got the blankets over his body before he was asleep.

He dreamt he was following Tarea again.


End file.
